The follow-up episode has a more positive vibe to it, although fans still mourning the premiere would likely consider that a low bar. Don’t get too down, gang. The age of Ezekiel sounds like fun.

“The Kingdom is a place of light,” says Nicotero. “It’s a place of life, a place where people seem to have figured it out and have been working together to build a thriving and vibrant community very, very different from anything our group has come upon in the past. And they’re led by a guy with a tiger. There’s an aspect of ‘I don’t get this place, but you’re doing it right and how’s that possible?’ But Lennie and Melissa are doing some amazing, amazing stuff coming up in this episode. And Khary Payton, who plays Ezekiel, is a freaking terminator. He showed up with pages and pages of dialogue to do and he never missed a line. He was so, so excited.”